Just Say Yes
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Season 4
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC
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Season 4
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
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(Sliders Story No. 53, starring Jerry O'Connell)
- written by Richard Manning
- directed by Jefferson Kibbee
- music by Danny Lux
- produced by Edward Ledding, Jerry O'Connell, & Marc Scott Zicree
- Production # K2809
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Story: The Sliders emerge into a world where everyone
is constantly medicated with drugs through infusers on their arms.
Authorities soon relieve Maggie's attitude with a tranquilizer dart,
and send her and Colin to a re-orientation house to get accustomed
to higher doses. What crime did Quinn's double commit on this world?
And what dangerous substances are the authorities taking to make
themselves virtually invincible
in their pursuit of Quinn and Rembrandt?
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In-Depth Analysis Review
by Martin Izsak
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WARNING: This review contains "SPOILERS", and is intended for
those who have already seen the program.
To avoid the spoilers, read the
Buyers' Guide to the season instead.
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As I have long suspected, this is a bit of a fluff episode. Very light
on dealing with the long term aspects of the show, or on the seriousness
of drug-related issues, and instead sporting the kind of fun and humorous
atmosphere that will become scarce a few episodes from now.
Viewers are probably still curious to see how Colin will function as
a member of the team... well, this episode won't deliver there since he
and Maggie are not really themselves today. To discover more of the real
Colin, viewers will have to wait another episode.
What social commentary there is here seems a bit too obvious to have
a whole episode devoted to it, and the subject matter isn't dealt with
all that accurately - as though drugs not only instantly change your mood
but also your memory and your goals. A real study would reveal a longer
and more insidious path to the erosion of memory and goals, and the timer
is once more set for too short a time to allow such things to unfold.
Plus, all the pharmacology is just too icky for me personally to roll
along with the laughs. Nice try, but not my favourite humour episode
of Sliders by any stretch of imagination.
Later sections up the ante with a very tense "Terminator"-like
sequence, which is shot in a really good location and works fairly well.
Don't try this at home kids, as the ample screen time of Damon's pain
after the fact can attest to.
Sadly, the big villain pulling everyone else's strings is a bit too
one-dimensional here today. Additionally, one has to wonder if he isn't
drug-free, considering his performance. The characters in this story aren't
that great, including the two new ones that Maggie and Colin turn into,
and they all feel like they could do with an additional layer
of realism. At least Quinn and Remmy get to do plenty of their usual
thing, and are particularly good at it this episode.
The story is bookended by scenes of the new team coming together,
which work alright as tacked-on jokes. Perhaps more bizarre is the fact
that our quartet isn't really discussing what they should do now that
they've all come together, or where they should point their timer to next.
Random slides forward aren't their only option anymore. A scene discussing
those options is conspicuous by its absence.
Still, this isn't too bad an episode. Perhaps it would have been
a good idea to have saved it for later in the season four run,
like between "Asylum" and "California Reich". Then again, it doesn't
work too badly where it is.
"Just Say Yes" is a pleasant enough episode of Sliders that shouldn't
be taken too seriously. Just don't expect it to win any great awards.
This story has become available on DVD.
Click on the Amazon symbol for the location nearest you
for pricing and availability:
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Season 4
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
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Season 4
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
for the U.K.
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